Federal, state and local law enforcement officials raided nine residences and businesses – eight in Brockton and one in Stoughton – early Thursday.

Eight men were arrested in those raids – seven from Brockton including Marrero. A New York man was picked up in Connecticut.

Six of the seven Brockton men and the New York man will face federal drug dealing and conspiracy charges that carry stiff penalties that could put the defendants in prison for many years.

“They’ve got a very powerful sledgehammer to use and they can be very persuasive when you’re looking at 15 to 20 years in federal prison,” said Mitchell Librett, a criminal justice professor at Bridgewater State University.

Brockton police worked with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office, the Massachusetts State Police and the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the drug operation, which had a distribution chain reaching Connecticut.

The distribution group allegedly supplied oxycodone to Brockton and Southeastern Massachusetts, with prosecutors saying Marrero supplied 25,000 pills during one five-month period.

“This group supplied a large percentage of pills to Brockton and the South Shore for a very long period of time,” Bonanca said.

Librett, a former police officer in New Rochelle, N.Y., said partnering with the federal government in prosecuting the drug organization likely gave Brockton police easier access to many resources, including more leeway in obtaining wiretaps, GPS tracking devices and money to reach out to criminal informants.

“They have broader latitude in some areas,” Librett said.

Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes said in a statement that the drug bust will help combat the city’s ongoing oxycodone problem, as the painkiller often leads to more extensive drug abuse and devastation for families.

“Oxycodone abuse is an epidemic,” Gomes said. “It’s the single biggest drug problem facing the city and the surrounding area.”

Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said DEA agents confiscated evidence during the raids, but could not release details of the seizures.

During court appearances on Thursday in Boston, prosecutors said Marrero and defendant John Cruz, 32, of Brockton, were also arrested on March 14, along with Jose Martinez More of New York, during what was believed to be a drug exchange.

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Investigators followed Marrero and Cruz to a parking lot off Exit 59 along Interstate 95 in Guilford, Conn. At the time of that arrest, Marrero had with him $50,000 in cash on the floor of the car between his legs, authorities said. The three men were arrested, and police seized 2,500 oxycodone pills.

Marrero’s mother posted $38,000 bail, taking it out of her retirement plan, to free her son after last month’s arrest, according to Ortiz’s office.

The organization appeared to have family ties, with Joel Marrero working with his cousins Reinaldo Marrero, 33, and Isaac Marrero, 19, both of Brockton, who are brothers, investigators said.

“It’s definitely taking a chunk out of the pipeline that comes into Brockton,” Bonanca said of the raids.

Librett said federal crimes often come with mandatory minimum sentences. The effect could be that, if convicted, the members of the drug syndicate will not be returning to Brockton for a long while.

“The penalties can be substantially more severe,” Librett said.

Alex Bloom may be reached at abloom@enterprisenews.com or follow on Twitter @AlexB_ENT.